Matthew 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye
be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. | Jesus is very clear as to the literal
things that are supposed to happen as the time of the end approaches = wars, but he does not want us to be troubled (worried)
about these terrible events? | The past two thousand years have been constantly filled with wars and rumors of wars, so this is not
a very clear indication of when he is coming. It will not be clear as to which wars he was referring to, until he returns.
However, when taken into account the totality of all the other prophecies, it would be safe to say that he is referring to
the past two hundred years. Also,
he may be referring to spiritual wars between the churches and religions.
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Matthew 24:7 For nation shall rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
| Jesus again is very clear as to the
literal state of the world at the time of the end, and he wants these things to happen because it is the only way people will
really believe He is who He says he is, when He announces His return? | Nations and kingdoms have been rising against each other before and after Christ's first coming. Famines,
pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places have never stopped since 33 A.D. When Christ returns
and lets people know that He has returned, one way to know if He is who he says He is, would be to look at the historical
situation of the world during those days, to see if these events actually took place or not. On a
deeper level, famine is, as taught in the book of Amos 8:11, not a lack of food and water, but of hearing the words of the
lord. Pestilences = dis-ease & corruptions within the churches. Earthquakes=separation, splitting apart of the churches.
This was definitely true of the Christian religion in the 19th century. |
Matthew 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to
be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
| Jesus
lets them know that the ramifications of being one of His disciples(you and me), at the time of the end, is that everyone
else will punish, hate, and kill them (us).
{Does this mean that every Christ believing person
on earth will be afflicted and be killed? That sure would be a lot of people. We better hope this passage is not literal.}
| There are many historical accounts of Christians
being killed and hated because of their faith, however, since he is specifically referring to the time of the end, He has
to be talking about the people who recognize and follow his teachings upon his second coming. These will not necessarily only be Christians, they may represent any person, culture, creed or faith
that realizes the wonders of God's next Holy Manifestation.
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